Jewelry storing small box

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a jewelry storing small box comprising a pair of small box outer shell members defining the interior of the small box, a hinge member for pivotally connecting the pair of the small box outer shell members between two positions for closing and opening the box interior, a jewelry pedestal member having a lower end supported by the hinge member and capable of mounting a jewelry at an upper end thereof, a drive mechanism for driving the jewelry pedestal member in conjunction with the rotational movement of opening and closing of the pair of small box outer shell members, so that the jewelry reaches a first posture/position when the inside of the small box is closed, and the jewelry reaches a second posture/position which is above the first posture/position separated from the hinge member and rotated with respect to the first posture/position when the inside of the small box is open.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to jewelry storing small box.

BACKGROUND ART

U.S. Pat. No. 9,375,066 being shown herein as Patent Document 1,discloses a ring box 100 having a ring holder 106 in the ring box and arotating arrangement 108 for rotating the ring holder when the box isopened and closed, as shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B and IC. The rotatingmechanism 108 causes the ring holder to rotate the ring into a ninetydegree angularly displaced position when the ring box is closed,semi-open, and open, as shown in the FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C. However, thisrotation mechanism does not displace the distance of the ring holderrelative to the ring box and raise the ring away from the ring box, sothat the ring box, when opened, cannot present a significant visualeffect to impress the person presenting the ring.

Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open Publication No. H06-3126being shown herein as Patent Document 2, discloses a jewelry box havinga transparent cover so that when the cover is closed, the inside jewelrycan be seen to rotate, and it is stated that this gives the jewelry aluxurious, pleasant and surprising visual effect. When the cover of thegemstone is opened, the rotation of the gemstone stops. The jewelry boxdoes not have any visual effect being exposed from the jewelry box whenthe jewelry box is opened.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication H06-298266 being shownherein as Patent Document 3, discloses a small box having a movableelement for moving a contained article into at least partially raisedexposed display position with an opening in the lid. However, since themovable element does not pivot the article about the axis in thethickness direction of the small box when the lid is opened and closed,there is no visual effect to be exposed from the small box when the lidis opened from the closed small box.

Japanese Registered Utility Model No. 3206124, which is shown as PatentDocument 4, discloses a ring case 1 for accommodating a ring. The firstdeployment member 10 and the second deployment member 20 supporting thefinger ring 30 are attached to the right and left case members 2L,2R ofthe finger ring case, and when the case member is opened, the foldedfirst and second deployment members are deployed, and the finger ring 30is rotated by 90 degrees, and as a result, it is described that “thering portion of the ring can be made to appear to the opponent in anannular shape when viewed from the front, and an element of surprise canbe added when giving an engagement ring from a man to a woman.” However,when the case is opened, the ring does not move away from the closedposition of the case 1, i.e., above the case, even if it can be rotated.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS Patent Document

Patent Document 1 U.S. Pat. No. 9,375,066

Patent Document 2 Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-OpenPublication No. H06-3126

Patent Document 3 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No.H06-298266

Patent Document 4 Japanese Registered Utility Model No. 3206124

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Problem to be Solved by the Invention

While jewelry is usually stored, kept and transported in a small box inwhich it is stored, for example, when a mating ring is stored, kept andtransported in a small box and presented for engagement, it is normal topresent the mating ring together with the small box to the recipientwhile the mating ring is still stored. In such cases, it may not beappropriate for the person who presents the ring in mind to present,e.g., as a seal of engagement, a gift by opening the small box, simplyremoving it from the pedestal inside the small box with a finger, andthen presenting it in order to present the stored engagement ring to therecipient.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide ajewelry storing small box that is driven to present a jewelry with avisual effect that impresses the person who presents the jewelry.

Means for Solving the Problems

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided ajewelry storing small box (1) for storing a jewelry, the small boxcomprising: a pair of small box outer shell members (2, 3) defining theinterior of the small box (1); a hinge member (4) for coupling the pairof small box outer shell members (2, 3) so as to enable rotation betweentwo positions for closing off and opening up the small box (1) interior;a jewelry pedestal member (61) that has a lower end supported by thehinge member (4) and an upper end on which a jewelry can be mounted; anda drive mechanism for driving the jewelry pedestal member (61) inconjunction with the opening/closing rotating motion of the small boxouter shell members (2, 3) so that when the small box (1) interior isclosed off, the jewelry is positioned at a first orientation/position,and when the small box (1) interior is opened up, the jewelry ispositioned at a second orientation/position that is above the firstorientation/position in the direction away from the hinge member (4) andis rotated relative to the first orientation/position.

Effect of the Invention

In accordance with the present disclosure, there is provided a jewelrystoring small box for storing a jewelry capable of presenting thejewelry visually impressive to a recipient.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of Example 1.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of Example 1 when the inside of thesmall box is closed.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of Example 1 when the interior of the smallbox is half open.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of Example 1 when the inside of the smallbox is fully opened.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of Example 2.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of Example 2 when the inside of thesmall box is closed.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of Example 2 when the inside of the smallbox is half open.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of Example 2 when the inside of the smallbox is fully opened.

FIG. 9A is a schematic diagram showing the correlation of the maincomponents of Example 2 in different operating states of A.

FIG. 9B is a schematic diagram showing the correlation of the maincomponents of Example 2 in different operating states of B.

FIG. 9C is a schematic diagram showing the correlation of the maincomponents of Example 2 in different operating states of C.

FIG. 10A is a schematic diagram showing another correlation of the maincomponents of Example 2, and different operating states of A.

FIG. 10B is a schematic diagram showing another correlation of the maincomponents of Example 2, and different operating states of B.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, each embodiment will be described in detail with referenceto the accompanying drawings. The following examples relate to jewelrystoring small box provided with means for rotating the jewelry up fromthe box and thereby providing an impressive visual effect to thejewelry, in conjunction therewith when the box is opened, in order toenhance its rendering effect when presenting the stored jewelry.

Example 1

Example 1 is shown in the accompanying FIGS. 1 to 5.

The main part of the jewelry storing small box 1 for storing a jewelryis composed of a pair of small box outer shell members 2, 3 defining theinside of the small box, and a hinge member 4 for connecting the smallbox outer shell members to each other on one side thereof. As shown inFIG. 1, the hinge member 4 has a sheath shape or a cylindrical shape inwhich one side edge along the longitudinal direction is opened, and apair of small box outer shell members 2, 3 are hinged at both endsthereof.

As clearly shown in FIG. 1, the above-mentioned hinge member 4 isprovided with a center gear 41 rotatably at a substantially centralposition, and a prismatic shaft 62 integrally formed with the centergear 41 stands upright from the center of the center gear 41. A rotaryrack sleeve 77 having a pedestal 61 at its upper end for mounting ajewelry such as a ring is placed on the shaft 62. The rotary rack sleeve77 is movable in the thrust direction with respect to the shaft 62, anda fitting inner hole thereof is formed in a square columnar shape so asto be fixed with respect to the shaft 62 in the radial direction.

The base portions of the pair of frames 42 and 43 are fixed on the hingemember 4 at positions where they sandwich the center gear 41, the shaft62, and the rotary rack sleeve 77. A pair of gear shafts 75 and 76 arepassed over the upper ends of the frames 42 and 43, and a rotary racksleeve 77 is engaged with the gear shafts 75 and 76.

The small box outer shell members 2, 3 are provided with a bracket 2 a,3 a respectively fixed to the inner wall thereof, and pulley-attachedgears 51 and 52 are provided at their tips respectively, and these gearsmesh with the center gear 41 on the hinge member 4 through the baseopening portions 42 a and 43 a of the pair of frames 42 and 43,respectively.

Gear shafts 75 and 76 at the upper ends of the frames 42 and 43 havepulleys 73 and 74 fixed to shafts passing through the frames 42 and 43,respectively, and these pulleys 73 and 74 engage transmission belts 71and 72 pulled from the pulley-attached gears 51 and 52, respectively.

According to the configuration described above, when the inside of thesmall box is closed, the jewelry therein is in the posture/positionextending in parallel with the inner wall of the small box, and when theinside of the small box is opened, the jewelry is in a posture/positionextending in parallel with the wall thickness direction of the smallbox, which is above the above-mentioned closed position and spaced apartfrom the hinge. The jewelry pedestal member can be driven in response tothe opening and closing pivotal movement of the small box outer shellmembers so as to displace between these two positions.

In FIG. 2, a ring is indicated by a broken line as an example ofjewelry, and as shown in FIG. 2, the pedestal 61 on which the ring ismounted positions the ring in a posture/position in which the side facesare parallel to the inner walls of the small box outer shell members 2,3 when the small box is closed. When the small box outer shell members2, 3 are opened from the closed position, the pulley-attached gears 51and 52 of the bracket 2 a, 3 a attached to the small box outer shellmember 2, 3 rotate the center gear 41 of the hinge member 4, and rotatethe rotary rack sleeve 77 about its own axis through the shaft 62integral therewith, and rotate the gear shafts 75 and 76 via thetransmission belts 71 and 72 to push the rotary rack sleeve 77 up in thethrust direction. As a result, the pedestal 61 and the ring mountedthereon also move up and away from the inner walls of the small boxouter shell members 2, 3 as shown in FIG. 3, and the ring makes atransition while pivoting to the posture/position shown in FIG. 4extending in parallel with the wall thickness direction of the smallbox. The reverse operation is performed, of course, when the small boxis closed from FIG. 4 to FIG. 3 to FIG. 2.

According to the first embodiment, it is possible to present jewelry toa recipient with an impressive visual effect that the jewelry such as awedding ring rises while swinging from the opening small box inconjunction with opening of the small box, for example, at the time ofpresenting a wedding ring to the recipient. As a result, affection ofthe person who presents the jewelry can be conveyed easily.

Specifically, the jewelry storing small box 1 according to the firstembodiment, when the small box is opened, the jewelry is separated fromthe inner wall of the small box by a drive mechanism for driving thepedestal 61 of the jewelry, and the jewelry is raised to an exposedposture/position which is displaced by an angle of 90 degrees from thestorage posture/position. The jewelry is rotated while moved upward fromthe inside of the opened small box to an exposed posture/position awayfrom the inside of the small box, so that the jewelry is presented tothe recipient with a visual effect that enhances the impression of theoffering.

In addition, according to the first embodiment, in the exposedposture/position separated from the inner wall of the small box 1 whenthe jewelry storing small box 1 is opened, the front face of the jewelrycan be made to face the recipient by the rotating operation of thejewelry by the small box, whereby the impression of the offering to therecipient can be further enhanced.

Further, according to the first embodiment, since the drive mechanism isprovided for driving the pedestal 61 of the jewelry storing small box 1in conjunction with the opening and closing movement of the small box,the long side surface of the jewelry stored in the small box can extendin a direction substantially parallel to the inner wall of the small boxouter shell member and occupy an adjacent posture/position. As a result,the dimension of the small box in the wall thickness direction can beminimized, that is, the appearance of the jewelry storing small box 1becomes slim.

In the first embodiment, as an example, the pedestal 61 constitutes ajewelry pedestal member on which a jewelry can be mounted. The centergear 41, the gears 51 and 52, the transmission belts 71 and 72, thepulleys 73 and 74, the gear shafts 75 and 76, and the rotary rack sleeve77 constitute a drive mechanism for driving the jewelry pedestal member.

Example 2

Example 2 is shown in FIGS. 5 to 9 with the same reference numerals forthe same or similar components as Example 1.

In the jewelry storing small box 1 according to the second embodiment,the pedestal member 6 is composed of a pedestal 61 for supporting a ringshown by a broken line in FIG. 5 as a jewelry, and a cylindrical stay 60provided with the pedestal 61 at the upper end and having a through-hole63 near the lower end. The through-holes 63 have openings 63 a and 63 bat circumferential positions separated by approximately 180 degrees inthe radial direction. The pedestal member 6 slidably inserts the stay 60into a cylindrical guide portion formed inside the hollow guide member 5having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape fixed to thebase portion of the hinge member 4, and extends toward the opposite sideof the one side to which the small box outer shell members 2, 3 arecoupled by the hinge member 4. The hollow guide member 5 constitutes apedestal member guide member.

As clearly shown in the exploded view of FIG. 5, the hollow guide member5 is provided with openings 53 and 54 in the vicinity of the upper endand the lower end of the wall on one side of the rectangle. The slider 7with the protrusions 81 is fitted loosely with a rectangular inner boreoutside the hollow guide member 5 so as to be slidable without relativerotation to the hollow guide member 5, and they are combined so that theprotrusions 81 are on the same side as the side wall of the hollow guidemember 5 in which the openings 53, 54 are present. The slider 7 isconnected to the small box outer shell member 2, 3 by connecting rods 82and 83. One end of each of the connecting rods 82, 83 is engaged withthe bracket 21, 31 fixed to the inner wall of the small box outer shellmember 2, 3, and the other end is engaged with the protrusion 81 of theslider 7.

As shown in the exploded view of FIG. 5, the driving tape 10 forming aflexible tape element has a ring 11 pivotally supported by a protrusion81 of the slider 7 (an example of an engaging portion in the slider),and from the ring 11, the driving tape 10 extends outside of the hollowguide member 5 to the inside of the hollow guide member 5 through anopening 53 (an example of a first opening) of the hollow guide member 5,passes through a through-hole 63 of the stay 60 of the pedestal member 6from an opening 63 a to an opening 63 b, passes through an opening 54(an example of a second opening) of the hollow guide member 5, exits tothe outside of the hollow guide member 5, and reaches the ring 11 again.

FIG. 6 shows a state in which the small box is closed, and although notshown, the pedestal 61 supports a ring as the jewelry as shown in FIG. 2of Example 1, and the side surface of the ring positions the ring in aposture/position parallel to the inner walls of the small box outershell members 2, 3. In that position, the brackets 21 and 31 of thesmall box outer shell members 2, 3 are closest to each other, theconnecting rods 82 and 83 engaged with the protrusions 81 of the slider7 are raised, and the slider 7 is in the uppermost position.

As shown in FIG. 6, the correlation between the operation of the stay 60of the pedestal 61 and the hollow guide member 5 and the driving tape 10of the stay 60 is schematically shown in FIG. 9A when the small box isclosed and the ring is positioned by the pedestal 61 in aposture/position parallel to the inner wall of the small box outer shellmembers 2, 3.

When the small box outer shell members 2, 3 are opened around the hingemember 4 from the closed position, the connecting rods 82 and 83 areopened, and the protrusion 81 of the slider 7 is pulled down, and thedriving tape 10 is pulled downward outside the hollow guide member 5 bythe ring 11 engaging with the protrusion 81. The driving tape 10 runningfrom the opening 53 to the opening 63 a of the through-hole 63 of thestay 60 frictionally engages the corner surface of the opening 63 a andpulls the opening 63 a of the through-hole 63 to the vicinity of theopening 53 until the distance is minimized as shown in FIG. 9C. Sincethe opening 53 is not only above the opening 63 a of the through-hole63, but also at a position where the angular phase of the pedestal 61 isdifferent from that of the opening 63 a of the through-hole 63, the stay60 not only ascends linearly but also rotates counterclockwise toapproximately 90 degrees. The movement trajectory of the angular surfaceof the opening 63 a by the driving tape 10 is substantially the same asthat of the driving tape 10 from the opening 63 a to the opening 53shown in FIG. 9A. FIG. 9B shows a state thereof in the middle.

Further, when the small box is opened and the jewelry is separated fromthe inner wall of the small box as shown in FIG. 9C, and the small boxis returned to the storage position as shown in FIG. 9A after passingthrough the intermediate posture/position when the small box is halfopened as shown in FIG. 9B, the driving tape 10 can pull down the stay60 until the opening 63 b comes closest to the opening 54 by frictionalengagement with the corner surface of the opening 63 b of thethrough-hole 63 so that the stay 60 is in the lower position and theangle is also returned to the original angle position and orientation.When the small box is opened and jewelry is separated from the innerwall of the small box as shown in FIG. 9C and returns to the storageposture/position as shown in FIG. 9A after passing through theintermediate posture/position when the small box is half opened as shownin FIG. 9B, the driving tape 10 can pull down the stay 60 by frictionalengagement with the corner surface of the opening 63 b of thethrough-hole 63 until the opening 63 b comes closest to the opening 54,so that the stay 60 is in the lower position and the angle returns tothe original angle posture/position.

In order to turn the pedestal clockwise, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B,the engagement direction of the driving tape 10 with respect to thethrough-hole 63 of the stay 60 is only reversed from that of FIG. 9, andtherefore, the turning direction of the jewelry can be easily changed bythe same component.

In Example 2, substantially the same effect as in Example 1 describedabove can be obtained. That is, at the time of giving the engagementring, the jewelry such as the engagement ring can be presented with animpressive visual effect on the recipient that the jewelry rises whileswinging from the opened small box in conjunction with the opening ofthe small box. As a result, affection of the person who presents thejewelry can be conveyed easily.

In the second embodiment, the hollow guide member 5, the slider 7, thedriving tape 10, and the connecting rods 82 and 83 constitute a drivemechanism for driving the jewelry pedestal member 6, as an example.

In the second embodiment described above, the connecting rods 82 and 83are engaged with the protrusion 81 of the slider 7 engaged with the ring11 of the driving tape 10, but the present invention is not limitedthereto. The connecting rods 82 and 83 may be engaged at differentpoints from the protrusion 81 of the slider 7 to which the annulus 11 ofthe driving tape 10 engages, (for example at two points on both sides ofthe protrusion 81 of the slider 7). And in the second embodimentdescribed above, the pedestal 61 is separate from the stay 60, and theyare integrated by being joined, but they may be integrally molded fromthe original. Alternatively, the pedestal 61 may be configured to beremovably attachable to the stay 60. In this case, by preparing aplurality of types of pedestals 61, it is possible to easily cope withjewelries of various sizes.

Although each embodiment has been described above in detail, the presentinvention is not limited to a specific embodiment, and variousmodifications and variations are possible within the scope of theclaims. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which all orsome of the components of the above-described embodiments are combined.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 jewelry storing small box-   2 small box outer shell member-   2 a bracket-   3 small box outer shell member-   3 a bracket-   4 hinge member-   hollow guide member-   6 pedestal member-   7 slider-   10 driving tape-   11 ring-   21 bracket-   31 bracket-   41 center gear-   42 frame-   42 a base opening portion of the pair of frame-   43 frame-   43 a base opening portion of the pair of frame-   51 gear-   53 opening-   52 gear-   54 opening-   61 pedestal-   62 shaft-   60 stay-   63 through-hole-   63 a opening-   63 b opening-   71 transmission belt-   81 protrusion-   72 transmission belt-   73 pulley-   74 gear shaft-   76 gear shaft-   77 rotary rack sleeve-   82 connecting rod-   83 connecting rod

1-6. (canceled)
 7. A jewelry storing small box comprising: a pair ofsmall box outer shell members defining the interior of the small box; ahinge member for pivotally connecting the pair of the small box outershell members, by which the pair of the small box outer shell memberscan be rotationally transferred between two positions for closing andopening the box interior; a jewelry pedestal member having a lower endsupported by the hinge member and capable of mounting a jewelry at anupper end thereof; and a drive mechanism for linearly moving the jewelrypedestal member along an axis perpendicular to an axis of rotation bythe hinge member and rotating the jewelry pedestal member about the axisin conjunction with the opening and closing pivotal movement of the pairof small box outer shell members.
 8. A jewelry storing small boxcomprising: a pair of small box outer shell members defining an interiorof the small box; a hinge member connecting the pair of small box outershell members so that the pair of small box outer shell members canrotate and move between two positions for closing and opening theinterior of the small box; a jewelry pedestal member located inside ofthe small box defined by the pair of small box outer shell members andcapable of mounting a jewelry at an upper end thereof such that thejewelry is at a postural position in a closed state of the interior ofthe small box and at another postural position in an opened state of theinterior of the small box; a pedestal member guide member having acylindrical guide portion in which the jewelry pedestal member isslidably fitted; and a flexible tape element connecting the jewelrypedestal member fitted in the guide portion to the pedestal member guidemember; wherein in response to the pivotal movement of the pair of smallbox outer shell members between two positions for closing and openingthe interior of the small box, the tape element drives the jewelrypedestal member within the guide portion in the axial and radialdirections such that the jewelry mounted on the upper end portion of thejewelry pedestal member is displaced between a closed posture/positionwithin the small box and an open posture/position within the small box.